Sammie Through the Years...

One of our farm friends who deserves his own dedicated blog post is Sammie.

As a pup he had unbridled energy...

he ran like the wind and never tired.

From the very beginning we new he would be the perfect farm dog.

He was curious...

playful...

and tolerant...

gentle...

and fearless...

His favorite spot was right in the middle of whatever was happening.

He would sit very still and allow the other animals to smell him.

The perfect work companion who enjoyed napping in the garden...

and adventures in the wild.

Whenever anyone visits, Sam is right by their side.

He especially loves children...

soaking up any attention he can get.

He's the first in line when anything fun is about to happen.

Always gentle with new additions...

He's the neighborhood groundhog hunter and can routinely be seen carrying his

prizes across the farm fields.

The groundhog is underground?

Not a problem, Sam will go right down the hole after it!

Quite often his hunting trips yield deer parts left behind by hunters...

which he lovingly brings home to share...gross!

He's a lover and a fighter...

but most of all, just loves a good time.

And seems to have a uncanny ability to differentiate between which animals are for hunting

and which animals are in his charge.

We've watched him mature over the years...

growing into the strong silent type.

These days he conserves his energy....

riding shotgun in the gator when we head our for chores.

He saves his energy for adventures into the wilds.

I hate when he disappears into the woods,

as he will stay away for hours.

Thankfully, he always returns home... exhausted.

There is a wild streak in this fellow who was originally found as a youngster

wandering the woods of North Carolina...

a wild streak that will remain until the day he is too weak and old to bother.

He's a rare one...this brown dog of unknown origins...

truly a friend who will never be duplicated.

Although all of our dogs are wonderful,

Sam always seems to be the favorite amongst visitors...

most of them wanting to take him home.

But this golden-eyed Poodle-Beagle-Chow-Rottweiler mix is a farm dog through and through.

He needs room to explore and lots of stimulation.

We are as lucky as he is that he landed here at the farm.

And although we kiddingly have dubbed him "Bad Sammy" over the years...

we cannot imagine life without this old brown dog.